


the spark

by thebriars



Series: drumfred ficlets [4]
Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: Drabble Series, M/M, Mild Language, Modern AU, Short, Smoking, the tinderbox scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 06:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14326437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebriars/pseuds/thebriars
Summary: Alfred glanced up from his malfunctioning lighter to meet the startling eyes of a stranger, who had apparently seen his struggle.“You got a light?”••the tinderbox scene, but modern





	the spark

**Author's Note:**

> ok so I’m thinking of turning this into a series- all the big drumfred moments but in the modern day? let me know what you think!
> 
> shoutout to my beta, Otter/clarameansbright!

Drunk Mina was a force to be reckoned with. She'd always been a lightweight, which she knew perfectly well, but the subtle rejection from Ernest had led her to throw back a few shots more than normal despite the consequences.

 

Of course, Alfred had been tasked with her care.

 

They stumbled out onto the sidewalk. Alfred was only slightly tipsy, but the heavy arm Mina had flung over his shoulders turned the pair into a lumbering four legged creature.

 

"Yeah, yeah, there we go-," Alfred soothed, smoothing Mina's hair back from her forehead and dropping them both onto a bench. She hiccuped, clearly on the edge of tears.

 

"I just don't _understand_ , Alfred, I thought we were _good_ ," Mina whispered, twisting her hands in her skirt and blinking back tears.

 

"Fuck, Mina, I'm not good at this."

 

"Actually, I find you very soothing in times of need," she said haughtily, trying to stand up and stumbling forward a little. Alfred sighed and dropped his head into his hands, still slouched on the bench.

 

"Mina, I'm going to get Harriet to drive you home."

 

"But I'm not done yet; I want to dance, Alfred. Remember last summer? Oh, that was delightful." Mina swooshed her skirt a little and hummed some song Alfred didn't recognize.

 

"It's either Harriet or I call you a cab," Alfred warned, finger hovering over Harriet's contact.

 

Mina seemed to sober up for a moment, considering briefly. "I'll take Harriet."

 

••

 

Alfred slumped back against the cold brick wall, having seen Mina off with a forgiving Harriet, and fumbled with his lighter. It'd been iffy lately, working occasionally and refusing to operate other times. Perhaps it was God's message to stop smoking, but Alfred had heard of the dangers from Victoria enough lately and had no intentions of giving it up yet.

 

"Can I be of assistance?"

 

Alfred glanced up from his malfunctioning lighter to meet the startling eyes of a stranger, who had apparently seen his struggle.

 

"You got a light?" Alfred cracked a smile and ran a hand through his hair.

 

The stranger nodded, and Alfred's vaguely hazy mind finally managed to put a finger on why he looked so ethereal- one green eye and one copper. They were gorgeous, too, like warm earth and murky forests.

 

"Here," he offered, the golden flame dancing in the darkness, and Alfred brought the end of his cigarette to it. The poet in his heart jumped at the symbolism, because he _couldn't_ be imagining the spark in his chest.

 

Alfred slept around. It wasn't a secret; he'd go out with his friends, disappear, and turn up back at the apartment he shared with Mina in the morning. It didn't bother him. In fact, Alfred found the fleeting nature of it all nearly as romantic as Victoria and Albert's oh-so-perfect relationship.

 

He figured it was the surreal quality of hooking up that made him love it so much. To find someone, someone beautiful or blisteringly intelligent or both, and share one night together. To lay himself plain on the sheets and take it back when he left. To do something so passionate and intimately human with no strings attached, to lend himself with a person he'd never see again: that was the part he loved.

 

The spark didn't feel like that. It was the _I don't know your name, but I know your soul; please marry me_ feeling he'd only read about.

 

Alfred took a drag and let the smoke encircle his head, knowing exactly how he looked. The stranger took notice, those bright eyes filling with recognition. Alfred smirked a little.

 

"I'm Alfred."

 

"Edward," the stranger said, a smile in his voice and a brow raising, causing a line of shivers to run down Alfred's arms.

 

"Come in with me? My friends probably won't leave for a while." It was a desperate attempt at causality, though Alfred knew Edward could see right through him.

 

"It'd be my pleasure."

**Author's Note:**

> well? sorry that this is so short- I’m working on a longer fic, which I’m hoping to start posting later this month. 
> 
> ••
> 
> I may be ace but I’m a hoe for comments <33


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